Edvard Storm
Encyclopedia
Edvard Storm was a poet from Vågå
, Oppland
, Norway
. He was the son of Johan Storm, the priest in Vågå, and his second wife, Ingeborg Birgitta Røring. The first 12 years of his life were spent in the Vågå rectory, until he began school in 1756 in Christiania
. In 1765 he took the entry examination for Copenhagen University, but waited until later to enter. For a period he was a teacher in Lesja
, but he returned for the years 1766-1769 in his childhood home. His strong interest in nature and valley life were developed during these years.
In July 1769 Storm left home to begin serious study in Copenhagen
; it is thought he pursued theology but he never took the official examination. It is possible that his interest in literature distracted him from his expected studies.
Despite being a Norwegian, he did not join the Det Norske Selskab He was an admirer of the Danish poet Johannes Ewald
though, and attached himself to his circle of friends who were members. But his upbringing in Norway had bound him firmly to the land. He wrote 9 songs in local dialect before the beginning of the 1770s. These songs were not only special as the first works he wrote, they were also among the seminal works of Norwegian literature in dialect, and are viewed as the best that Storm wrote.
Storm returned to his district in about 1785. From this point and forward, his work with education was of considerable value. In 1786 a circle of the area's more important men created a folk school. Storm was a member of the group and came to play an important role in the administration of the school.
His work included "Zinklars vise" ("The Ballad of Sinclair"), celebrating the defeat of a force of mercenary Scots under Captain George Sinclair's leadership by local forces led by a peasant girl Prillar-Guri
. She lured the Scots into an ambush by playing of the traditional ram's horn. This battle is referred to as the Battle of Kringen
. The poem is characterized by the National Romanticism of the age, as was the bulk of his work.
Vågå
Vågå is a municipality in Oppland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Vågåmo....
, Oppland
Oppland
is a county in Norway, bordering Sør-Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The county administration is in Lillehammer. Oppland is, together with Hedmark, one of the only two landlocked counties of Norway....
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. He was the son of Johan Storm, the priest in Vågå, and his second wife, Ingeborg Birgitta Røring. The first 12 years of his life were spent in the Vågå rectory, until he began school in 1756 in Christiania
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
. In 1765 he took the entry examination for Copenhagen University, but waited until later to enter. For a period he was a teacher in Lesja
Lesja
Lesja is a municipality in Oppland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Lesja....
, but he returned for the years 1766-1769 in his childhood home. His strong interest in nature and valley life were developed during these years.
In July 1769 Storm left home to begin serious study in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
; it is thought he pursued theology but he never took the official examination. It is possible that his interest in literature distracted him from his expected studies.
Despite being a Norwegian, he did not join the Det Norske Selskab He was an admirer of the Danish poet Johannes Ewald
Johannes Ewald
Johannes Ewald was a Danish national dramatist and poet.-Biography:Ewald, normally regarded as the most important Danish poet of the 2nd half of the 18th Century, led a short and troubled life, marked by alcoholism and poor health...
though, and attached himself to his circle of friends who were members. But his upbringing in Norway had bound him firmly to the land. He wrote 9 songs in local dialect before the beginning of the 1770s. These songs were not only special as the first works he wrote, they were also among the seminal works of Norwegian literature in dialect, and are viewed as the best that Storm wrote.
Storm returned to his district in about 1785. From this point and forward, his work with education was of considerable value. In 1786 a circle of the area's more important men created a folk school. Storm was a member of the group and came to play an important role in the administration of the school.
His work included "Zinklars vise" ("The Ballad of Sinclair"), celebrating the defeat of a force of mercenary Scots under Captain George Sinclair's leadership by local forces led by a peasant girl Prillar-Guri
Prillar-Guri
Pillar-Guri or Pillarguri is a semi legendary figure who according to oral tradition was a woman from Sel, Norway who played a key role in the Battle of Kringen in August 1612.-Background:...
. She lured the Scots into an ambush by playing of the traditional ram's horn. This battle is referred to as the Battle of Kringen
Battle of Kringen
The Battle of Kringen was a battle perpetrated by a Norwegian peasant militia against Scottish mercenary soldiers who were on their way to enlist in the Swedish army for the Kalmar War....
. The poem is characterized by the National Romanticism of the age, as was the bulk of his work.
Works
- Bræger, 1774.
- Adskilligt paa Vers, 1775.
- Infødsretten, 1778. Poem in 4 parts
- Fabler og Fortællinger i den Gellertske Smag, 1778.
- Samlede Digte, 1785.